Online environments function as virtual youth centres and hubs for bonding and bridging social capital¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · qualitative r3 · q2
Currency · newest study 2025 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? Online spaces provided accessible gathering places for support and belonging, functioning like virtual youth centres that reduced distress and removed geographic barriers. → Gordon 2025 q2 i? Online environments supported both bonding social capital (staying connected with existing friends and family) and bridging social capital (connecting globally with people adolescents would not otherwise meet). → Gordon 2025 (2)

Evidence¶

Gordon 2025¶

Gordon, C. S., Brake, N., Hammond, S. P., Picton, I., Notley, T., Rowston, K., Gutierrez, A., Basarkod, G., Costello, K., Gupta, M., West, M., & Dicke, T. (2025). Adolescent flourishing in a digitally connected world: A qualitative systematic review and meta-synthesis. Preprint. https://osf.io/j48k5/?view_only=8b6423082746439abb4106526e953aaf

q2 · i? · qualitative · r3

Relatedness subtheme from the meta-synthesis: these spaces provided safety, acceptance, and care during difficult times, with affordances such as anonymity, asynchronicity, and instant connectivity enabling connection and alleviating distress and loneliness.

"For many adolescents, online environments functioned like virtual youth centres, accessible, familiar spaces where they could gather, connect, and be supported."

Gordon 2025 (2)¶

Gordon, C. S., Brake, N., Hammond, S. P., Picton, I., Notley, T., Rowston, K., Gutierrez, A., Basarkod, G., Costello, K., Gupta, M., West, M., & Dicke, T. (2025). Adolescent flourishing in a digitally connected world: A qualitative systematic review and meta-synthesis. Preprint. https://osf.io/j48k5/?view_only=8b6423082746439abb4106526e953aaf

q2 · i? · review · r2

Subtheme on social capital: adolescents described strengthening existing relationships across hospitalisation, pandemic lockdowns, and distance, and bridging to global connections, with one rural participant describing meeting "a whole lot more people…that you never would have met".

"Online environments function as spaces for both bonding and bridging social capital."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• A meta-synthesis of 90 qualitative studies across 26 countries identifies adolescents' positive online experiences with digital flourishing — a broader claim this one bears on
• Adolescents experience autonomy online through self-discovery, anonymity, and judgement-free self-expression — related
• Different organisational structures may foster different dimensions of social capital (bonding, bridging and linking) — a broader claim this one bears on
• The student-tutor relationship alone is judged insufficient: peer mixing and virtual communities are needed to counter isolation in online research supervision — related
• Online spaces hold distinctive value for underrepresented adolescents for identity expression, supportive peer networks, and friendships — related